I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of computer cooling fans. More particularly, the invention comprises a computer cabinet cooling system.
In general, a first field of use of the disclosed invention is by computer manufacturers as the most likely benefactors of the unique advantages of the instant invention. However, many other fields, such as for use by manufacturers of other heat producing electronic equipment and the like, could find potentially beneficial uses of this invention.
Thus, it can be seen that the potential fields of use for this invention are myriad and the particular preferred embodiments described herein is in no way meant to limit the use of the invention to the particular field chosen for exposition of the details of the invention.
A comprehensive listing of all the possible fields to which this invention may be applied is limited only by the imagination and is, therefore, not provided herein. Some of the more obvious applications are mentioned in the interest of providing a full and complete disclosure of the unique properties of this previously unknown general purpose article of manufacture. It is to be understood from the outset that the scope of this invention is not limited to these fields or to the specific examples of potential uses presented herein.
II. Description of the Related Art
Heat is the natural by-product of any electrical current flow. Some of the electricity in any circuit, except circuits made from superconductors, is turned into heat by the unavoidable electrical resistance of the circuit. Heat is also generated whenever an element of a computer circuit changes state. In fact, nearly all of the electricity consumed by a computer eventually turns into heat.
Inside the protective and confining cabinet of the computer, heat builds up, driving up the temperature. Heat is the worst energy of semiconductor circuits. It can shorten their lives considerably or even cause their catastrophic failure. Some means of escape must be provided for the excess heat. In truth, the heat build-up in most computers will not be immediately fatal to semiconductor circuits. For example, most microprocessors will shut down or simply generate errors that will shut down the computer before any permanent damage occurs to them or the rest of the components inside the computer. However, heat can cause circuits to age prematurely. It can trim the lives of circuit components. Keeping a system cool can thus prolong its life.
Computer cabinets have several front accessible bays into which various types of hardware may be placed. When hardware is placed in computer cabinets, especially computer cabinets that act as servers holding many hard drives, it is frequently difficult to cool the hard drives in any meaningful way. A typical computer cabinet will have multiple access openings in the front and back, and possibly on the bottom, with one or more fan units placed in the front or back panels to move the air therethrough. However, it is very difficult to move the air in this fashion and have it do meaningful cooling of hardware which is placed in a bay near the upper regions of the computer cabinet.
A wide range of configurations are known and are commercially available for computer systems, including desktop computers, servers, work stations, and the like. In general, such systems include a primary console or cabinet supporting and housing various system components, including a signal processor, memory circuitry, hard disk drives, floppy drives, CD ROM drives, power supplies, and so forth. During operation of the computer system, significant heat may be generated by the components, particularly by the signal processing circuitry and drives. To avoid excessive temperatures which could cause damage to the system components, it is commonplace to provide fans for drawing a flow of air into the through the console chassis to convectively cool the components.
Conventional fan cooling systems for computers typically include a small DC motor directly coupled to a rotary fan. Depending upon the cooling requirements, several such fans may be included, such as for directing a flow of cooling air over signal processing circuitry, as well as through power supply circuitry. Inlet apertures are provided in the chassis to facilitate the circulation of air over the circuit components. The motor and fan sets are generally supported by either external mounting structures, or by plates which are secured directly to an interior peripheral wall of the chassis or to mounting tabs within the chassis. When the system is operating, the fan motor is energized by the power supply to force the desired air flow over the circuit components. Control elements may also be included, such as thermistors, for regulating the speed of the fan based upon sensed temperature.
White such conventional cooling techniques do provide adequate cooling in many situations, they are not without a drawback. For example, conventional arrangements for cooling of the computer system components, such as CPUs, may not direct flow adequately over the circuitry, resulting in an unacceptable level of heating, particularly in warmer climates and higher altitudes.
In addition to the foregoing drawback, cooling systems for computer components often do not realize advantageous synergies between separate cooling structures within the systems. In particular, in addition to requiring cooling for signal processing circuitry and power supplies, many systems may require additional cooling for disk drives, floppy drives, CD drives, and so forth. Where such additional cooling is required, a supplementary cooling fan structure is generally provided. In certain known systems, this cooling fan assembly directs flow from an internal region of the chassis around the drives. However, the resulting flow rate of cooling air and the temperature difference across the drives may still remain insufficient for adequate cooling.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved technique for cooling components of computer systems housed within a system chassis. There is also a need for a cooling system capable of directing or orienting air flow to provide a more laminar stream and a direct path for cooling air both into and from cooling fans. Such a technique would advantageously afford additional cooling for system components such as drives. Accordingly, the invention a computer cabinet cooling system will overcome the shortcomings of the prior art.
In accordance with the present invention and the contemplated problems which have and continue to exist in this field, the present invention is a computer cabinet cooling system that consists of a standard type of upright tower cabinet having two accordion fold doors on the front thereof. The doors are hinged in such a way that the space in the outer door forms an air plenum. When the doors are shut, the airflow moves therethrough. The air is sucked into the cabinet by a fan unit through air inlet and outlet ports in the inner door and goes through the cabinet, into a fan plenum and is then forced forwardly through the fan plenum into the outer door air plenum and moves upwardly through the outer door air plenum and exits through the air ingress slots within the outer and inner doors in which the air ingress slots match up to various heat producing components in an equipment bay mounted within the computer cabinet front panel. The fan unit includes a plate which is affixed to the front panel of the computer cabinet, so that it can be easily removed for service. The invention is the multiple door assembly along with the various plenums and air ingress slots which allow the cooling air to be directed to the equipment bay through the front of the computer cabinet. This directional airflow appears to be unique.
The invention is simple, easy to use and is economical to manufacture. The invention provides improved elements and arrangements thereof in an apparatus for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes.
Other objects, advantages and capabilities of the invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings showing the preferred embodiment of the invention.